Carton feeding mechanism



.Faba 1, 193% M. J, MILMQE CARTON FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 22, 1930 7 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 7 7ZM 7', &a m ATTORNEYS.

fi lm I 53 u w Kerk mm M. J. MILMQE CARTON FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 22, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 5., Y w 7% 1 J fl mLT C 1.511%. @Z

9 INVENTOR.

Ww- BY Q ATTORNEYS.

M IMMH CARTON FEEDI NG MECHANI SM Filed Dec. 22, 19-30 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 XNVEN TOR.

A TTORNEVS.

Feb 3193 M. J MILMOE CARTON FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec.

22, 1950 '7 Sheets-$heet 4 Feb. 4, 393. M J MILMQE CARTON FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 22, 1930 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 ZNVENTOR.

' ATTORNEYS Fb. 4, 1936.. M J M]LMQE CARTON FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 22, 1930 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 ATTORNEYS a 9 en. 4-, 1936. M J. MILMOE CARTON FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 22, 1950 7 SI 1eetS-Sheet arl 1 N V EN TOR. W06 fi m, 27

A TTORNEYS.

loo

. 11, on is son i the chain which carries we erticl 1 con -sous. the comm Doing either eccelcl'otecl onsl cleceler" is! No. 356,5"33, or e, uoifomrc moti H 11c conveyor which carries series of cmtloiel c plurality of ZIlELlhEICS l3 loovlng rein connected together by EEGELKP s o, the members also chain which forms the endless (15517:;

P iOIlVEYDI travels over the J c F1 ed on the o and lo respectively. ls

est lllustratecl in Figs. 2 and 3, the aloft 5o secured. thereto a Geneva, gees" l9. Just below ounted in a bearing 2 and prevented .lclinal movement by means of the collar 1 disk =l secured to the stub shaft.

on the Hi and is oclagot notches in the Treoeve gees," l: manner. 4 also la" red tLer-e c which is ofiepceo toe out-21* @32'15'313 to." ,1 cs is 232 common fo Geneva gem, and. the operation 'tlocreci not described further, ezceot to say that shaft H is given a continuous movemeni; of """lon, this motion is impo "teal the shaft m A; an intermittent motion through means of the "gain l2 and notches l5.

The main driving shaft is carrlecl c3 means oi" the brackets 25 and 22 secure-cl to the l and 53 respective y. to the shaft 252 to the A bevelec 3- sec e meshes "lo a 23c shaft 2% which secured rotate the shaft the sprockets and secured to the she,

respectively. As the she? H rotates a commuous motion, this continuous motion is imparted to the sheila and also to the shaft l ich in turn causes the shaft to turn ic "tllereoy giving so internal oi; moveme' b the conveyor lo a direction loom left to l'lgllt as viewed 2.

As the conveyor moves 5mm left to right to the pockets are filled with ert'cles which be placed into cartons. "fdese oracles ore ted lay the reference nume? .l one; in the present instance are tubes of tooth paste, e like, but it will he lL W tlclcs. or convenience in describing m vention, have indicated the positions of veslous ones oi the pockets by the letters A, B, Q, '13, E, F, G' and H, the letter position being the X3051" tion at which the article is removed from the goo-nice The intermittent movement oi the con veyor advances each pocket to the next succeemg; position. That is, the pocket at F moves 8 etc.

The commas to be mile-cl stacked in folded position lo the hopper ill, and are indicated by the reference numeral These cartons adopted wee fed along e supoorcing 323 which are in spaced psrollel lation weeco other and. with. coov he ori cl. Before proceeding with c l. of the emsm for ieesllng oer-tom on, of lalong 1' will the mall ee which the cartons are fed 2 og the guides e. souo'eeclfl lostlcetccl m o l, c E'Sl ETQElCE co Figs. l and, 3.

Two porelllel stub shafts a bell-creole. -36 has the omas and the stub has the arms 33 and 33 have the thereto at #282 and. r rocking of the bell-cre movement of the links o5 port members being com'gsoond nt causes the tron-seem lolemoers move :N l, .s stentielly closed path which somewhat resembles a, rectangle. The path of movement of the transport is first to the right while 111 its highest fooslt'lon, then downward, then to the left one zonally upward again to bring the ticonscort into it pool tlon to egoin begin its cycle of movements. The means for imparting the lateral movement to the links comprises a link 5E3 pivoted st 553 to the link 3KB also, at 52 to the arm 53 pivoted at and carrying the roller 56 operating within at cam groove 5% 011 a com $25. The com 55 is so designed as to cause o rocking movement of the arm in a substantially horizontal direction thereby 1m pc-rting e. corresponding movement to the and 53. 7

1m coder to rock the cell-cranks in unison with eoch other, 1 connect the upper ends of "the arms 32* one by means of the link El. The arm 3? carries on extension having o roller thereon traveling in a, cam groove 56) in the com 6 l The cams 56 end c are secured to the shaft and rotate in unison therewith. The cams 55 are so designed as to import the above mentioned movements to the links cc and ll and to the tron port members co.

In rgs. 3 and e. may be seen a port oi the carton opening mechanism. This comprises a blade 82 having a forward beveled surface o This blade has openings therein through the 5 on Yolozlc protrude.

sm'rolmcl the pin L3 3 ylelcllngly holding the 111;,

is soc/moo. to "i-rcosaiclt 2,029,935 its the motion of the arm I2 to the sliding block 65, and consequently to the blade 62. The arm I2 is provided with a roller I3 which travels in a cam slot M in the cam 15. The cam I5 imparts a rocking movement to the arm I2 and this rocking movement is changed into a rectangular reciprocating movement for the blade 62.

In Fig. 4, I have shown a carton 32 in dotted lines at the upper left in that figure. This dotted line position 32 represents substantially the position which the lowermost carton occupies while in the hopper. This carton is moved to the right into a positionapproximately half way between the carton shown in dotted lines and the carton shown in full lines in that figure, or at the position shown for the blade 62. The direction of reciprocation for the blade 62 is indicated by the double-headed arrow thereon. "When the carton 32 moves to the first position out of the hopper, the blade 62 would be in a position out of the path of movement of the carton, but as soon as the carton is moved to that position, the blade moves forward and enters the folded carbon to partially expand the same in a manner which is quite well known in the art to which this invention pertains, and which is more fully described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 356,933. As the blade 62 enters the carton, the transport moves upward, and the projections 69 and the adjacent projections 48 engage the carton and square" the same so that the carton is now ready to receive the article, it being understood of course, that the blade 62 is withdrawn after the carton is squared or even slightly before it is squared. As best illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a bar 76 is carried by a plurality of arms I1 pivoted to the support 68. The outer ends of the arms I? rest (as oest illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3) on the upper ends of the brackets I8 so as to cartons and holds them in squared relation as there is a possibility that the cartons will collapse while the projections on the transport memhers are out of engagement'with the cartons.

After the carton is first squared by means of the projections 49 and 48 and blade 52, the transport moves downward and to the left as viewed in Fig. l, and the third and fourthprojections on each of the transport members 46, counting from left to right, are moved into position on opposite sides of the opened carton as the transport moves upward, and as the transport members move to the right, the carton is carried to the next position which is the carton loading position.

In order to better describe my invention, I have indicated the position of the carton in the hopper as position M, the position at which the,

suitable means may be provided for folding or,

sealing the flaps of the carton, for instance as in my co-pending application No. 356,933.

The articles at the position H are ready to be ejected into the carton at the position 0, and for this purpose I provide an ejector located adjacent the conveyor at the position H. This ejector is indicated by the reference numeral I9 and has a head 80 secured to the free end thereof, the other end being pivoted at iii to an upwardly extending bracket 82 carried by a rod 83 slidable in a bearing in the bracket 84' and in the web 2. A guide rod 84 is secured to the web 2 by means of a bolt 85. A member 86 secured to one end of the rod 83 and having its lower end guided by the rod 84 is pivotally connected at 87 to a link 88, and this link in turn is pivoted at 33 to an arm 90, rotatably mounted on the shaft 73 and having a cam roller 9| engaging within a cam groove 92 in the cam 93. As the arm is rocked by means of the cam 93, reciprocating movement is imparted to the rod 83 and to the ejector 19 as is best illustrated in Fig. 3.

As the ejector is moved into the pocket 5' at the position H. it engages the end of the article 30 and moves the article into the carton 32 at the position 0. However, due to the inter mittent movement of the conveyor for the articles, it is necessary that the ejector be raised clear of the conveyor on its return movement to the left as viewed in Fig. 3. I accomplish this result in the following A bracket 94 is secured by means of the bolts 95 to the table 4 at the front side thereof, and this supports a bell-crank having the arms 93 and 91 respectively. The arm 91 carries a roller 98 at the end thereof, and this roller engages within a cam groove 99 in the cam I00 which :2

I04 to the table 4. This link I03 acts to guide the member IIII during its vertical movement.

As best illustrated in Figs. 3, 1, and 6, the upper endpf the link IOI carries a horizontal member I05 having the guide rollers I06 journaled on the vertical pivots I01 and a guide roller Hi3 journaled on the horizontally disposed pivot I33. The ejector l9 rests on the roller Hill, and has opposite vertical sides thereof engaged by the rollers I96 so as to permit free movement of the ejector 779 relative to the horizontal member 15.

The cam member Hill is so designed as to rock the bell-crank operated thereby,.in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, as the ejector begins its return movement to the left as viewed v in Fig. 3, thereby causing an upward movement of the link IN, and as a result, an upward movement to the free end of the ejector. The ejector is raised sufficiently to clear the conveyor and the articles in the conveyor. v

The mechanism which I have so far described is substantially the same as that described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 356,933, and I also use substantially the same method of stripping the cartons from the hopper and for moving them into a position to be squared" by means of the projections and 48 and by the blade 62. However, the stripping mechanism is provided with means for rendering'the same inoperative at certain times when an article is missing from one of the pockets in the conveyor.

In Fig; 4, it will be-noted that an article is missing from the pocket G, and therefore, no carton appears at the position N since when the pocket at G arrives at the position H, it is desired that no carton be at the position 0. My invention contemplates means-for insuring that this will result whenever an article is missing from one of the pockets and the machine is so designed as to prevent the feeding of the carton which would normally have received an article from the o aoeaess pocket which is empty, had that pocket been failed.

I will first describe the stripping means and the manner in which it strips the carton irom the hopper. The cartons themselves rest upon a horizontally disposed member Bill) to which she hopper ill is secured by means oi the loraclzet ill and bolts i ii. The bracket ill is wide enougls to rest the guide so as to support one end. oi men-leer it ill, the other end. helrlg suoportecl Toy 1 cans of a bracket ilil shows. at the Fight in 2. I will refer now more particularly to the showing in Figs. 1, 4;, 5, ll, and ill. It will be note in these figures t at transport memare provided. with upwardly extending hearing brackets lll and pivot plus Me which the llii to which the stripping mom" hers it? are secured. The forward edges of the stripping members i ll project above the horizontal surfaces H8 an amount which. is not more the thickness oil one carton. The arms ill? have sloping surfaces M9 communicating with. the sm'faces M8 to guide the cartons onto the surfaces Mil and. against the stripping members ill. Springs dill are interposed between. the its ancl transport members as in order to normally urge the arms upward. Froiectlous Hi and i2? on the arms Me and transport members ll? respectively, limit the upward movement of the arms Mo.

cam member 828 best illustrated in Figs. 5, 9, and 3.0 is secured to the underside of the support ilil by means of the screws i2 3 (Fig. 5) or the It will be noted from an inspection of Figs.

" 9 that the cam member i223 projects hesicies of the suppers uncl it Wlll'be om an inspection of 1%, that the left end of the cam meuiloer 5253 is cu ve-r 1 at the upper *tliereo'i.

The normal operation oi the stripping mechauism is as follows: when the transport moves .arclly it is brought into the position illus ii in ill) or rather to s. uositiou slightly to the left of that shown in Fig. ill or that shown in i. The transport then moves toward. the right and. as it does this, the lowermost carton in the hopper ricles up over the beveled surfaces l ill onto the surfaces till and the stripping mean- 12ers i ll engage the edge of the custom sod move the same out of the carton through the opening in the from oil the hopper is nest ill strateol m "g. 9 or in i. This movement of the stripping members causes the carton to be fed to the position N at which position the cartou is squ2,red" as previously described. Arms iii? are provided with pins 526 on their opposed faces,

' and these ride over the upper surface of the cam member MS as is quite clearly illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. This prevents the arm from moving downwardly and insures thst the stripping memhers ill will always be maintained in abutting relation with the edge of the carton as the carton is being moved out of the hopper. At the same time, if the carton is bellied upwardly, the springs lilo will urge the arms are upwardly to keep the stripping members always against the carton which is second from the bottom. Otherwise the stopping members ill may come out of contact with the lowermost carton and prevent the feeding of the carton out of the hopper.

it will readily be seen that if the stripping members iii are rendered inoperative, the cartons will not be ifeci from the hopper, and in order to render the stripping members ill inoperative, i provide means for preventing the movement carries an arm 92% and the other carries an us, these arms rotating about their respective pivots in opposite directions due to the pin 53% ou the arm Hill which operates in the slot @322 the plate 2133, the latter being secured to the aim. Tue arms ifill and 33B? are arranged between the arms Hill and when in the position. shown is. Figs. 4, 5, and 9, are substantially parallel with each other, and as is very readily seen in Fig. i, the ems in this position are not in the paths of movement oi the pins 126, but will permit the pins to move the full extent of their upward. travel, thereby causing the cartons to he led out of the hopper as the transport moves to the right.

When the arms however, are rocked into the position shown in Fig. '7, by giving a clockwise movement to the arm H29, and a counter-clock Wise movement to the arm 538, the ends of these arms are then in a position to engage the pins lilll as they move upwardly and thereby limit the upward movement of these pins, and consequently the upward movement of the arms llfi.

While the transport always moves to the same upper elevation, the arms will not move to the same upward position when the arms ltll and Q39 arrest the movement of the pins lilli as then the arms i253 and l are out of the paths of movement of the pins us. The lower surfaces of the arms M9 and ilill are substantially in allusment with the under surface of the core i233 quite clearly illustrated in Figs. 8 and 11. Consequently, when the pins strike the under sides of the arms W9 and i3 the pins are arrested at a position in the same horizontal plane as the uucler side oi"; the com 323. Therefore, as the transport moves to the right in Figs. 8 and 11, the pins lilo will move under the cam 923 and the stripping members i ll are therefore carried along with the transport at positions remote from the lowermost carton in the hopper. Consequently.

no carton is stripped from the hopper whenever the arms i253 and 93B are in the positionsg shovm in Figs, 7, 8, and 11. Means which will presently be described, are provided for moving the arms 52% and 353 to the positions illustrated in Figs. I and 8, if and when the pocket which is adapted to carry the article to be fed into the next carton due to be removed from the hopper is empty. However, it is desired that upon the next stroke of the transport, the stripping members H? be again ren derecl operative, providing, of course, that the next pocket has an article therein. Therefore, as the transport moves forward, suitable cam mechanism mounted on one of the transport members, and the adjacent arm co-operate to return the arms 429 and i353 to the positions iilustrated for those arms in Fig. This cam mechanism is perhaps nest illustrated in F3 s. 4., 7, 9, and 12, and comprises a member secuiccl by a bolt 82% to the transport member 3 3 and o. i

member ass on the under side of the arm i311. These members have (Jo-operating cum surfaces ll-l'l and ms respectively. As the transport member moves to the right, the co-operatlng surfaces liil and. we come into engagement with. each 2' til - to be fed into the carton which now rests at the other and cause the arm I29 and arm I30 to 1'0- tate from the position shown in Fig. '7 to that shown in Fig. 4. Of course when the arms are in the position shown in Fig. 4, the pins I26 can no longer engage these arms as the transport moves upward and as a result, the next movement of the transport member will cause the feeding of a carton from the hopper.

I will now describe the means by which the arms I29 and I30 are moved into the position shown in Fig. 7 when an article is missing from a pocket in the conveyor. Reference will be had particularly to Figs. 3, 4, 5, and '7 which most clearly show the means which I am about to describe.

To one of the guide members 33 are secured a plurality of bearing blocks m9 which rotatably support the shaft ldii. To the right hand end of the shaft let is secured an arm MI, which projects substantially horizontally away from the shaft Mill towards the conveyor. An arm M2 pivoted at M3 to the bracket I8 has a downwardly extending projection M3, adapted to rest on the arm i 88 whenever the arm I62 is not otherwise supported. The free end of the arm M2 rests on the horizontally extending member I65 which is carried by the link I III so that the arm Hi2 moves upwardly whenever the link IIlI moves upwardly and moves downwardly under its own weight when the link IIlI moves downwardly. The arm M2 is provided with a feeler I having a horizontally extending portion I45 arranged above the pocket which is at the position F.

Whenever there is an article in a pocket at the position F. the horizontally extending portion we of the feeler will engage that article and limit the downward movement of the arm I62 at such a position that the lower .end of the downwardly extending projection I63 will not engage the arm Ml. However, when a pocket at the position F does not have an article therein, the horizontally extending portion M5 will move downwardly in excess of the permitted movement when an article is in the pocket at this position. Consequently, more of a downward movement will be permitted for the projection I63 on the arm Hi2 and the end thereof will engage the arm IM and rotate the same together with the shaft Mil. It will be understood, of course, that the horizontally extending portion I05 carried by the link till will move downwardly a suiilcient distance to permit the necessary downward movement of the arm 32 and projection I43.

To the left hand end of the shaft M0, I secure an upwardly extending hook or operating member Ids, and this hook lies between a projection i l! on the arm I29 and the adjment guide member 33. Ordinarily when the shaft I80 is not rotated. the hook I56 is not rotated. and therefore does not disturb the position of the arm I29 shown in Figs. 4 or 5 but whenever the shaft Mb is rocked, due to the rotation of the arm Mi, the hook M6 moves against the projection ldl thereby rotating the arm I29 in Fig. 4 in a clockwise direction into the position shown in Fig. 7. In this latter position, as previously explained, the arms I29 and I30 are positioned so as to intercept the movements of the pins I26 thereby preventing the stripping of a carton from the hopper on the next movement of the transport to the right.

In Fig. 4, it will be noted that the carton at the position M is the carton which is in a position to be next fed from the hopper. and that the article 30 in the pocket F is the article which is bottom of the stack of cartons in the hopper at the position M. Therefore, it is necessary that this carton be fed from the hopper, and consequently no rocking movement must be imparted to the shaft I00. That this will result is very evident from the description which has just been given for the feeler I 34 will not move downwardly a sufficlent distance to cause the downwardly extending projection I43 to engage the arm l ll due to the engagement of the horizontal portion I45 with the articles 30 in thepocket at the position F.

It will be noted that there is no article in the pocket G and this accounts for the fact that there is no carton shown at the position where the blade 82 is positioned in Fig. 4 or in Fig. 1. There is also an empty pocket at the position B, and consequently when the pocket at the position B arrives at the position F, the feeler Mt will move downwardly into the pocket suificiently to cause the projection M3 to operate the arm EM, and thereby throw the arms 029 and H30 into the po sitions shown at Fig. '7, thereby preventing the feeding of the carton which would normally recelve the article in the pocket at B if and when an article is in that pocket. I believe that it is unnecessary to explain the operation of this device except very briefly, as the details of the operation have been clearly set forth in the preceding description of my invention.

The articles are placed in the pockets 5' and are carried past the feeler its to the loading position H. Cartons are supported within the hopper Bi and stripped from the bottom of the stack in the hopper by means of the stripping member i ii, the transport causing the successive movements of the cartons from the position M to the positions N and O, the latter being the position at which the article is received from the pocket H. The article is moved into the pocket H by means of the ejector I9, and after the article is in the carton, the cartons are conveyed along the guide members 33 by means of the transport members to positions at which the ends thereof may be closed or sealed as in my co-pending application No. 356,933.

Normally when the pockets are filled and the machine is in operation, the arms I 29 and I are in the position shown in Fig. 4, but when an article is missing from a pocket at the position F, the feeler Hid moves downwardly an excessive amount and thereby rocks the arm I29, and consequently the arm I30 into the positions shown therefor in Fig. 'I. In these positions of the arms I29 and N0, the arms H6 are not permitted to have their full upward movement when the transport moves upwardly to its highest position because of the engagement of the pins I26 with the underside of the arms I 29! and l30 thereby preventing the feeding of a carton from the bottom of a stack in the hopper.

As the pins l26 move under the cam member I23, the cam surfaces I31 and I38 on the members I35 and I36 respectively, come into engage ment with each other. and reestablish the positions for the arms I29 and I30 shown in Fig. 4

'Z in time to prevent the stemming oers ill from moving the next carton out o hopper.

Vorious modifications of my invention is to t bout clepznting t1 spirit iivention, and. there do r t wish L0 be i ted excen n c' cli combine lion cei ing pl moving movable 211G141. str tion to 1e movcinen hOltill'l said on to remove 'snsnort moves ting In iem iei' in opv .on lIIOIJ, said hopper as said its oath of mo /(orient. ed at a pi'eclete Tl! lcle is :n' ng (1 last me tioned oosiion, and old deiec .51 if n m i 1 1g member out its and when an einpt inty by said detector a stiff; stripper from strip manner as to render SEllCl stripping member inetive to feed that carton out of said lo would normally receive article from solo article i of SLEWDIFT, a sport me one by one,

T131853. nieecling icons member for teed "ensport member for feeding carof e ..tons one by one along eeletcrmined path to c locating position. and rendering seici f ding means tom rarily inoperative without at pping solo trons rt member comprising a cam member ncbotetl o be interposed in the path of movement 0 said ceding means for moving said feeding means out of its normal path of movement.

i. A cartoning machine comprising a tr nspoi'tmember having means thereon tor moving cartons along a predetermined path after t.e some have been stripped from steel: of cartons. means for moving said transport, a stripping member for stripping cartons from a. stool: of cartons. solo stripping member being n10 .ble relatively to a a niojection on movable into o -d r s of the norms! path of movement of o pi n, soiei com rendering s n-cl "ping member inoperative \vh Gilli; is moved into th pa h of moveincz of said foro- ."irbiniz (lie on ietion of salt]. itl tram-port.

st means on s In a carton 5: coins mechanism, the coinbination with a lionoer for receiving a "plurality o1" cartons, a. stiinpng member movable to strip on said positioned so ges one side of s J "loci" is renal-creel ino when saicl projection side of plate said Live, and means for ,i ction on nehlon i l). l; Op topping member movable to st je-ction engages one side of seicl plate 5' pins; is rendered inoperative, projection is c on the ct. s piste said stripping member is one means for selectively positioning salicl ejection to the side of solid. oint sender toe stripping member ope-r 'J. in packaging machine, the coinbin 1 a conveyor bovine; plurality of article ceiving positions thereon, means for sllppibliillij e plurality of cartons, means for stripping cartons one by one from said plurality of cartons, means for moving said cartons to a. loading position after they have been stripped from said plurality of cartons, a detects? for detecting when an article is missing can one of said article reccl sitions, continenton stripping 1 com mechanism movable into the p Ci 1. merit of abutment to prevent cyoeiiefi cn stripping means and onemtive CGE'lZ'l bet-ween snitl new mechanism said conveyor and adapted to Contact with ticles in said pockets if and when articles in said pockets and to move into position in him said pockets when articles are missing from said pockets, a. corn mechanism operated by the move nient of seicl movable member when. on an.

missing from a pocket. and operative connections between said cam mechanism and said stripping member for rendering said stripping merin er inoperative at times when an article is missing from a. pocket, said operative connections between said com mechanism and said stripping member so n- "prising a. projection on sold stripping nieinoer to said com mechanism for p o venting the movement of sold stripping me. into its normal operative position.

9. in a carton feeding device for leading tons from a plurality oi cartons arranged,

tin

to engage one edge of a carton to be removed from said stack, means for normally maintaining said stripping member in a position to engage the edge of a carton at a predetermined position during the cycle of movement of said carrier so that cartons are stripped periodically from said stack, and means for preventing said stripping member from occupying its normal position for stripping a carton from said stack without changing the cycle of movement of said carrier.

10. In a carton feeding device for feeding cartons from a plurality of cartons arranged in a stack comprising a carrier movable in a defined path, a stripping member movably mounted on said carrier and having an abutment adapted to engage one edge of a carton to be removed from said stack, means for norma ly maintaining said stripping member in a position to engage the edge of a carton at a predetermined position during the cycle of movement of said carrier so that cartons are stripped periodically from said stack. and means for preventing said stripping member from occupying its normal position for stripping a carton from said stack without changing the cycle of movement of said carrier, comprising a member normally lying entirely out of the path of movement of said stripping member but adapted to engage a portion of said stripping member when moved to an abnormal position so as to prevent the normal movement of said stripping member for the purposes specified.

11. In a carton feeding device, the combination with a stationary hopper for receiving cartons which are to be filled, a stripping member. means for moving said stripping member periodically through a normal path of movement past the under side of said hopper, means for supporting the cartons in said hopper in a position such that the lower-most carton is in a position to be engaged by said stripping member as it moves along its normal path of movement. whereby a carton is normally stripped from the stack of cartons in said hopper. and a member engageable with the stripping member for deviating said stripping member out of its normal path of movement as it is moved past the under side of said hopper and into a position such that it will not engage the lower-most carton, whereby the same will not strip the carton from the stack.

12. In a carton feeding device. the combination with a hopper for receiving cartons which are to be filled. a stripping member movable periodically pastthe under side of said hopper, means for supporting the cartons in said hopper in a position such that the lower-most carton is in a position to be engaged by said stripping member as it moves along its normal path of movement. whereby a carton is stripped from the stack of cartons in said hopper. and means for moving said stripping member out of itsnormal path of movement as it passes the under side of said hopper and into a position such that it will not engage the lower-most carton and thereby will not strip the same from the stack, said means comprising an abutment on said stripping member and a plate selectively movable into and out of a position to engage said abutment to prevent said stripping member from moving close enough to the lowermost carton to strip the same as the stripping member moves past the under s de of said hopper.

13. A device as claimed in claim 12 in which means is provided for automatically moving said plate out of a position to engage said abutment after said stripping member has been prevented from stripping a carton from the bottom of a stack in said hopper,

14. In a packaging machine. the combination with a hopper for cartons having a support for the stack of cartons adapted to be placed therein, a carrier movable transversely to the bottom of said hopper. a pair of arms movably mounted on said carrier and yieldingly urged in a direction toward the adjacent end of said hopper,'abutment surfaces on said arms adapted to engage the edge of a carton as said carrier moves transversely to the under side of said hopper and strip said carton from the remaining cartons in said hopper, laterally extending pins on said arms. a pair of inter-connecting pivoted plates normally lying wholly without the path of movement of said pins. means for moving said carrier in a sub stantially orbital path in a plane substantially perpendicular to the lower-most carton in said hopper, operating means for moving said pivoted plates into the path of movement of said pins for arresting the movement of said pins, and moving said arms against said yielding means whereby said arms are hefd out of operative position and cannot strip a carton from the stack in said hopper on the movement of said carrier along its path, and means for automatically restoring said pivoted plates to an inoperative position after said plates have prevented one carton from being stripped from the stack within said hopper.

15 A device as claimed in claim 14 in which means is provided for feeding said cartons after they are stripped to a loading position where they are to receive articles and in which means is provided for feeding articles to a position adjacent said loading position in timed relation to the feeding of said cartons to that position, and in which there is also means which becomes operable to actuate said operating means for said plates to move them into the path of movement of said pins whenever an article is missing from the line of articles being fed to a position adjacent said loading position and at a time during the feeding of the articles such that a carton will not be fed to said loading position except when an article is also fed to that position to be moved into said carton at said loading position.

16, A device of the class described comprising a hopper for receiving the cartons and the like which are to be stripped therefrom. a support at the bottom of the hopper upon which portions of the lowermost carton rest, a member movable along a fixed path to and past the bottom of said hopper, a stripper carried by said member having a projection thereon adapted to contact with the lowermost carton in the hopper as the stripper moves along its normalpath of movement to remove said carton from said hopper. said stripper being yieldingiy pressed in a direction toward the stack of cartons in the hopper, a plate adjacent the path of movement of said stripper, a second projection on said stripper adapted to pass said plate on one side thereof as the stripper moves past said cartons during its normal movement along its path. said plate engaging said projection to prevent movement of said stripper away from the stack .of cartons in said hopper, means for returning said stripper to its original position after a carton is stripped from said stack with the said second projection passing beneath said plate. and cam means normally inoperative adapted to move into a position above said second projection to prevent said second projection from moving into a position above said plate as the stripper is moved on its next move;

ment toward the stack of cartons, and instead guide said second projection to a position beneath said plate. whereby said plate prevents contact of said stripper with said cartons during the movement of the stripper past said hopper.

17. A device as setforth in claim 16 which includes in addition conveying means for feeding articles and said cartons to a loading position where the articles are inserted within said cartons and in which there is a means for detecting when an article is missing from an article receiving position on said conveying means and in which said detecting means is operatively connected to said cam means and actuates said cam means to move the same into operative position for preventing movement of said stripping member into operative position on a predetermined movement of said stripping member past the stack of cartons in said hopper and when an article receiving position is vacant, whereby said stripper will not feed a carton to the loading position. the carton which is not fed to said loading position being the one which normally would have been stripped from said stack and fed to said leading position to receive an article from the article receiving position which is vacant.

18. In a device of the class described, the combination with means for supporting a. stack of cartons. a carton advancing member having a recurring cycle of movement along a given path, projections thereon adapted to advance a. series of cartons through successive positions, one of said projections being a stripping projection for stripping a carton from said stack on each recurring movement of said advancing member, another of said projections being an advancing projection for advancing the carton after it is stripped by said stripping projection, and means for rendering said stripping projection inoperative to strip a carton from said stack without destroying the operativeness of said other projection to advance cartons which are in a position to be advanced thereby.

19. In a device of the class described, the com bination with means for supporting a stack of cartons. a carton advancing member having a recurring cycle of movement along a given path, projecticns thereon adapted to advance a series of cartons through successive positions, one of said projections being a stripping projection for stripping a carton from said stack on each recurring movement of said advancing member, said projection being mounted for movement relative to said advancing member, means for moving said projection relative to said advancing member to render said stripping projection inoperative to strip a carton from said stack as it normally would during its cycle of movement, and without destroying the operativeness of another projection, which latter projection is adapted to advance the carton after being stripped from said stack by said stripping projection.

20. In a device of the class described, the combination with means for supporting a stack of cartons. a carton advancing member having a recurring cycle of movement along a given path, projections thereon adapted to advance a series of cartons through successive positions, one of said projections being a stripping projection for stripping a carton from said stack on each recurring movement of said advancing member, said projection being mounted for movement relative to said advancing member, means for moving said projection relative to said advancing member to render said stripping projection inoperative to strip a carton from said stack as it normally would during its cycle of movement, and without destroying the operativeness of another projection, which latter projection is adapted to advance the carton alter being stripped from said stack by said stripping projection, said means for rendering said stripping projection inoperative comprising an abutment on said stripping projection, ancl means for engaging said abutment to move the same out of its normal path of movement, and thus move the stripping projection relative to said advancing member out of operative position.

21. In a device of the class described, the combination with means for supporting a stack of cartons, a carton advancing member having a recurring cycle of movement along a given path, projections thereon adapted to advance a series of cartons through successive positions, one of said projections being a. stripping projection for stripping a carton from said stack on eachrecurring movement of said advancing member, said projection being mounted for movement relative to said advancing member, means for moving said projection relative to said advancing member to render said stripping projection inoperative to strip a carton from said stack as it normally would during its cycle of movement, and without destroying the operativeness of another projection. which latter projection is adapted to advance the carton after being stripped from said stack by said stripping projection, said means for rendering said stripping member inoperative comprising a stationary plate. an abutment member on said stripping projection normally passing on a given side of said plate during normal stripping operation of. the same, means for directing said abutment member into a position on the other side of said plate as said advancing member moves along its path, whereby to hold said stripping member out of its normal path of movement a sufiicient amount to prevent the same from engaging and stripping a carton from said stack.

22. A device as set forth in claim 21, in which said abutment member normally travels along a closed path circumscribed about said plate, and in which deflecting means are provided for engaging said abutment member, and for defleeting it out of its normal path to cause the same to move along the side of said plate other than said given side during the time the same would normally move along said given side, said plate thereafter holding said member out of its normal path of movement a sufficient amount,

as said carrier advances. to prevent said stripping projection frorn stripping a carton from said stack.

23, An article packaging machine comprising a stationary reservoir for wrappers, a stripper, means for moving said stripper through a normal path of travel past said reservoir, the wrappers being so held in said reservoir that a wrapper is engaged and removed from the reservoir by the stripper in its normal movement. and a member engageabie with the stripper for deviating said stripper from its normal path of travel as it is moved past the reservoir so that a wrapper is not engaged.

24. An article packaging machine comprising a stationary reservoir for wrappers, a stripper, means for moving said stripper through it normal path of travel past said reservoir, the wrappers being so held in said reservoir that a wrapaoaaess as per is engaged and removed from the reservoir by the stripper in its normal movement, and means including a cam member engageable with the stripper during movement thereof for deviating said stripper from its normal path of travel as it is moved past the reservoir so that a wrapper is not engaged.

25. An article packaging machine comprising a stationary reservoir for wrappers, stripping means movable through a normal path of travel past said reservoir for moving wrappers from the reservoir to an article wrapping position, the wrappers being so held in said reservoir that a wrapper is engaged and removed from the reservoir by the stripping means in its normal movement, a conveyor for conveying the articles to be wrapped to said Wrapping position, a detector for detecting the presence or absence of an article on said conveyor, and a, member controlled by said detector for engaging and deviating said stripping means from its normal path of travel as it is moved past the reservoir, so that a wrapper is not engaged when no article corresponciing to such wrapper to be wrapped thereby is present on said conveyor.

26. An article packaging machine comprising a stationary reservoir for Wrappers, stripping means movable through a normal path of travel past said reservoir for moving wrappers from the reservoir to an article Wrapping position, the wrappers being so held in said reservoir that a wrapper is engaged and removed from the reservoir by the stripping means in its normal movement, a conveyor for conveying the articles to be wrapped to said wrapping position, a detector for detecting the presence or absence of an article on said conveyor, means rendered operative by said detector for deviating said stripping means from its normal path of travel as it is moved past the reservoir, so that a, wrapper is not engaged when no article corresponding to such wrapper to be wrapped thereby is present on said conveyor, and means controlled by the movement of said stripping means for restoring said deviating means to inoperative condition.

MICHAEL J MILMOE. 

